Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 420 Iron Ore

That evening, the eldest brother took Yan Hui to experience and see many of the real characteristics of Brazil, which broadened Yan Hui's horizons considerably.

It must be said that these overseas businessmen do things differently.

Many everyday consumer goods are more expensive here than in China, but high-end items like private jets aren't that pricey. Jet planes like the Gulfstream are very expensive, but ordinary piston-engine fixed-wing aircraft aren't expensive; you can buy a very good one for a few million, and the operating costs aren't high either.

The next day, Yan Hui followed his boss and drove a long way to a small airport, where they boarded a small piston-engine fixed-wing aircraft.

This is an SR22 small aircraft that can carry one pilot and four passengers, making it a relatively entry-level private jet.

"How safe is this thing?" Yan Hui was a little worried; he had never been on such a small plane before.

"How could the one I chose for you be bad? This is a brand new plane, only two years old! And this plane has a parachute. I heard a friend tell me about it last time; it's called a whole-aircraft parachute system. That means this plane has a large, integrated parachute. Now you can rest assured, right?"

"That sounds pretty promising. How far can it fly?"

"It can fly 350 kilometers per hour, which is about 5 hours. This trip should be enough for us; we'll be back in three hours. I'll show you the rainforest while I'm at it. But the rainforest here isn't that great; it's not as beautiful as the core area," the leader explained.

"How much does a brand new plane cost?" Yan Hui asked curiously.

"Less than $50."

"So cheap?" Yan Hui was surprised; he could really afford it!
“Yes, you could buy one yourself. But it’s too difficult to maintain an aircraft in China, and maintaining flight routes is incredibly difficult.” The eldest brother thought for a moment, “Forget it, you shouldn’t buy one. The situation in China is different from here. Transportation in China is very convenient. This kind of aircraft is slow, doesn’t fly very far, and has difficult flight routes. Generally, people in China who can afford to buy private planes are very powerful! Those kinds of people fly jet planes, they wouldn’t get involved in this kind of piston-engine aircraft.”

"Well, I was just thinking about it," Yan Hui shook his head slightly. "By the way, how much does a jet plane cost?"

“A boss here bought one before, it was a second-hand light aircraft, and it cost him about 3.5 million US dollars. If you want to buy a decent one, it will cost at least 20 million US dollars.”

"Then forget it, wouldn't that be like raising a father?" Yan Hui immediately shook his head.

The eldest brother glanced at Yan Hui with some shock. He was extremely surprised!

Yan Hui's first reaction wasn't "Why is it so expensive?", but rather "It's too expensive to maintain!" This means that Yan Hui could actually afford a jet aircraft?
The three chatted as they boarded the plane with the pilot.

The plane has four seats, which are next to the cockpit. It has a glass cockpit and is very compact overall, with a total space comparable to a small helicopter.

"Is this whole parachute safe?" Yan Hui asked, still somewhat uneasy after entering the plane.

"That's really impressive. I saw a video before. There was a huge parachute, red and white, and the whole plane slowly landed. Anyway, this plane is selling really well! What's wrong with you? You're a big boss now, why are you so afraid of dying?" the boss laughed.

“First time. Normal.” Yan Hui looked at Jiang Yutong. “Are you scared?” “Huh?” Jiang Yutong was checking her seatbelt. She was very excited. “I’m not scared! This is so exciting! I love it! Boss, if you have all these kinds of itineraries, I won’t charge you for translation!”

"One thing at a time." Yan Hui didn't say anything more and fastened his seatbelt.

The plane was a bit bumpy, and the propellers started spinning wildly. Then it bounced and hopped forward, and before we knew it, it was actually flying.

After actually taking flight, Yan Hui didn't feel anything special.

Although the small plane doesn't have that heavy, stable feel, its wings look so reliable. Because the wings aren't long, they give the impression of being very sturdy, so it's normal for them to wobble a little.

The SR22's cruising altitude is 8000 meters. As the plane continued to climb, Yan Hui felt a little nervous again. On the contrary, Jiang Yutong was not afraid at all. She even took out her camera to take pictures.

About an hour later, the plane began to descend, and soon everyone could see the huge, layered open-pit mine. From the plane, it was clear that this was a massive man-made "landscape," extending to an unknown depth underground. As the plane continued to descend, many mining trucks could be seen gathering and moving, looking like a swarm of ants.

The SR22's minimum safe flight altitude is 200 meters. At this altitude, the horizontal flight speed is relatively slow, and Yan Hui quickly came into view of the entire iron ore mine. The surrounding green rainforest and the exposed reddish-brown mine pit in the center created a strong visual contrast. Flying towards the central area, the aircraft began to climb to avoid being driven away.

The pilot was very familiar with this place; he had clearly been here more than once or twice. It's a famous landmark, and many wealthy people want to see it.

From Yan Hui's perspective, he could calculate the consumption of vehicles and the construction cost of the railway, but none of that mattered much. He was mainly there to watch the spectacle.

In any case, this experience greatly broadened his horizons.

At this point, the role of the translator becomes crucial. Yan Hui, through Jiang Yutong, communicated with the pilots without any problems. The leader could only communicate with the pilots using the simplest vocabulary, while Jiang Yutong could communicate normally.

According to the pilot, traffic here has been less than it was six months ago, which was important information for Yan Hui. In addition, as the car passed the railway line, Yan Hui saw mountains of iron ore. He asked the pilot about it, but the pilot said he didn't remember seeing so much before.

Steel prices have started to decline recently, and Yan Hui was able to make money on the projects he secured earlier. However, this wave of price drops came too quickly, and Yan Hui is unsure whether there will be a rebound or the prices will continue to fall.

It's important to know that steel prices fluctuated throughout June to September, and recently they have reached near the low point of the fluctuation, leading most people to believe that steel prices will rise.

Logically, it would be highly unlikely that a small steel agent would travel to Brazil to investigate the market, but through a series of coincidences, Yan Hui arrived.

He had already obtained $1500 worth of information from Brother Tian and had done a detailed analysis. Today, he came here and heard what the pilot said, which confirmed his idea that the sharp drop in iron ore prices should be a continuing trend.

Given this, the situation in Jinan could be approached with even greater drastic measures. He kept considering the feasibility of this approach and ultimately concluded that his idea was correct.

(End of this chapter)